A while back I had a blog entry about bonus credit card offers of lower APRs, balance transfers, and fee waivers just for being inactive.  Now, we officially have proof that these types of inactive offers are making their way into the usually-in-the-background bankcards tied to your checking account.

The offer in general is a Chase banking offer for a Continental Airlines bankcard.  Essentially, they are offering 5000 bonus miles for using your card 10 times over a 2 month period.

Chase Inactive Offer

What this shows is that banks are not only making a push to steal wallet share from credit cards but now are attempting to promote spend on your ATM or bankcard as well.  There is a certain population that are credit averse will never use a credit or revolving loan type product.  They are hoping to get you to start using your bankcard.

Banks love bankcard spend primarily because there are no associated losses or defaulted loans since all fund are withdrawn immediately from your checking account.

Now, the disadvantage of using a bankcard is that using this product for purchases does not register on your credit bureau and will not help you build credit.  If this is not important to you, then it really doesn’t matter which you use as long as you look for the product that give you the best benefits and rewards.

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